Starting gate



Patented Jan. 5, 1937 I UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE STARTING GATE August T. J. Bahr, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to Bahr Starting Gate Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application February 15, 1932, Serial No. 593,069

2 Claims. (01. 119-15.5)

This invention relates to new and useful im- Figure 2 is a detail sectional view of the conprovements in a starting gate, and has for one struction and mounting taken on the line 2-2 of its principal objects the provision of means of Figure 1 with a portion broken away.

, whereby race horses may be conveniently held Figure 3 is an end view similar to Figure 2, but

5 in their proper post positions without danger of showing the parts in anot er po o n taken a injury to the horses, the riders or the assistant from the right hand end of Figure 1. starters. Figure 4 is a detail view of the partition and One of the important objects of this invention illustrating a slight modification certain parts beis to provide means for conveniently anddefiing omitted for clarity.

1Q nitely overcoming the delays at the post which As shown in the drawing: lu not only ruin the chances of many of the starters, The reference numeral l 0 indicates in a general lessen the interest of the public in the contest, way the overhead supporting member for the and subject the starters to criticism, but also starting gate of this invention Which member s put many horses out of racing for all time to S cur d n Supported at Bath y o s come. l2 and M mounted on sets of wheels 16 and I 8. 15

Another important object of this invention is Suspended from the overhead suppo t to provide in a starting gate, an individual padded her it is a number of partition supports 20. An stall for each horse, the stalls being open at both extension 22 designed and adapted to receive ends, and of sufficient width to allow a horse to and retai a p v p 24 is attached to and forms readily pass therethrough or to be conveniently a part of the lower portion of each of the par- 2 held therein. tition supports 20.

A further important object of this invention The truss or overhead supporting member is is to provide a starting device for race horses or constructed with a tWo inch camber and is built the like whereby excessive handling at the post in s ct ons as i ust at d- T e Supportin W e 25 by assistant starters is eliminated, as is also the it and i8 are'swiveled on ball bearings, and are 25 danger of either the starters or other horses beoff-center as shown, allowing them to be very ing kicked or injured, and whereby horses known easily turne W e ve he machine is pulled 0 as bad actors can be easily controlled. pushed, and automatically assuming the proper Still another and further important object of angle to move the gate in the desired direction.

this invention is to provide a starting gate which The wheels are pre ly d a n provided 30 is safe, mobile, and reliable, and so constructed with heavy pneumatic tires. that heavy and muddy tracks will not interfere The standards 29 are preferably composed of in any way with its operation. The starter gate sections of pip metal u n a d a joined of this invention will not mar the surface of the by means of cross-braces 2! as best shown in track when being placed thereon or removed Figure thereby providing a particularly Strong 35 therefrom, carries its own barrier, and a bell to construction. The outer edges of the truss or warn the horses of the start, and can be placed Ov ead S pp member W are d d as in position and removed in a minimum time. shown at II, this providing sufficient strength Another and still further important object of while at the same time assuring a graceful struc- 40 the invention resides in the provision of improved ture. It will be noted that the supporting pins 40 stall partitions for a starter gate of this type, for the Wheels "5 and 8 x e d upw y through which stall partitions are movable upwardly in the frame ll of the gate and are held in position a foldable manner when the starting gate is to be by means of fastening nuts or the like l9 which moved, so that there will be no excessive drag at the same time allow of an easy rotation thereof on the surface of the track. on the bearings. 45

Other and further important objects of the Partitions 26 consisting of frames of channel or invention will be apparent from the disclosures angle iron or the like, and covered with padding in the accompanying drawing and following 28 form a series of stalls or passageways in which specification. horses can be held awaiting the starting signal,

The invention, in a preferred form, is illustratsaid partitions being of sufiicient width to enable 50 ed in the drawing and hereinafter more fully the assistant starter to stand at the end thereof in described. 7 safety as horses are released and pass from the In the drawing: stalls on each side of said partitions. The parti- Figure 1 is a front elevation of the race track tions 26 are substantially rectangular in shape starting gate of this invention. with a triangular shaped portion 52 extending to the rear and adapted to fit the bottom of the partition support 20 when said partitions 26 are lowered.

It will be noted that the lower ends of the standards 20 are provided with rearward extensions 23 which, in addition to acting as extra length elements for the stalls formed by the partitions also serve to protect the legs and feet of the jockeys from being crushed against the partitions when the horses are driven therebetween preparatory to starting them.

The stall partitions are so built intothe supporting trusses that they are very rigid, and the width of each stall partition is such that the horses are prevented from bumping into one another when they break from the gate, thereby avoiding accidents. The assistant starter standing in front of any partition is protected by this width, and his position thereby does not interfere with the horses. Furthermore, he is protected by this width from being injured or stepped upon by the horses.

Extending rearwardly from each partition 26 is a combination bracing and guide pin 21 which fits closely into a sleeve or the like 29, the sleeve being formed in the rearward extension or stop element 23 as best shown in Figure 2. There are preferably two or more of these guide pins with corresponding sleeves for each partition, and they extend for a considerable distance into the extension or stop member 23 and arealso quite rigid with the partition itself, so that sidewise movement of the front end of the partition is positively prevented, and a very secure bracing of the pivoted partition accordingly results.

Metal spikes 30 and 3| extending downwardly from the lower edges of the partitions penetrate the surface of the track to support and hold the partition 26 against si-dewise strains and stresses caused by lunging or crowding horses. Excess length spikes '3! are preferably used at the forward ends of the partitions as a safety measure because said ends are a considerable distance from the rigid partition support. The spikes are preferably at a slight angle to afford better protection.

An eye-bolt 32 secured to the inside of each partition adjacent the lower edge, provides a means for attaching a cable or the like 34 for raising or lowering said partition. Each cable 34 passes over pulleys 38 secured to the partition supports 20 and thence upwardly to a drum 4B mounted on a shaft 42 in the overhead supporting member l0.

Each partition 28 is formed of a plurality of angle irons or strips, and is hollow as shown in Figures 2 and 4, the padding 23 simply covering the outside, and on account of the width of each partition, there is ample space for the cable 34 to move in the open upper portion of the partition when the partition is being raised or lowered. This movement of the cable with respect to the partition is best illustrated by a comparison of the respective positions shown in Figures 2 and 3. Also the cross-braces 2| for the standards 20 are so arrange-d that suitable movement of the cable 34 between the standards 20 is allowed without any contact with the cross-brace 2|. This assures a very free motion of the partitions both up and down, and eliminates friction to a very considerable extent, thereby providing a much easier working installation and one which is, very satisfactory from an operating standpoint.- The weight of each partition 26 is such that it will readily drop into place by gravity when desired.

One drum 4%! is required for each cable 34, and these drums can be either steel or wood, and all drums and gears are keyed on theshaft. Power for driving the shaft 42 to raise the partitions 26 I may be supplied by a motor 44 or manually. For the manual raising of the partitions a crank may be applied to the armature shaft extension 46. Power for rotating the drums is transmitted from the shaft 46 to the sprocket 50 mounted on the shaft 42, by a chain 48. i

The return of the partitions 26 to the lowered position is accomplished by gravity, sufficient braking power to govern the speed of the descent being obtained by use of the crank.

The pivoted construction of the stalls as described above allowsthe same to fold up upon the order of a jack knife when the starting gate is to be moved. The balancing of the same on the trusses is such that very little power to raise the same is necessary, thereby enabling the motor 44 to be dispensed with, and the manually operated crank used exclusively.

From an inspection of Figures 2 and 3, it will be noted that the supporting standards or end members I2 and I4 are braced by means 'of curved buttress plates 45 which while affording sufficient strength are of limited extent so that a clear view of the horses by both the starter and the spectators is attained, and there is no blocking of this view at any time on accountof the very open nature of the entire structure itself. V In order to facilitate movement of the entire device, handling or grappling hooks 41 are provided as best shown in Figure 3, these being for,

the attachment of chains whereby the gate can be readily pulled about on the track into and out of position. Doors 49 are fitted into the ends of the lateral extending frame members l1, thereby providing ready access to the bearings for the shafts which support the wheels l6, it, etc., and furthermore, these doors may be used to provide access to storage spaces or the like built into the housing at these points.

A modification of the construction of the partition is shown in Figure 4 in which the triangular shaped solid portion 54 extending further to the rear than the part 52 is used as a counterbalance to assist in raising or lowering the partitions.

On account of this rearwardly extending counter-weight, stall partitions constructed in this fashion are even more properly balanced, and consequently less power is required to raise the same.

It will be evident that herein is provided a starting gate for race tracks or the like which will give the starter a complete view of all the horses and his assistants, and the starter can always see that each horse is ready to break. Furthermore, the public can always have a complete view of all the horses. I

With the partitions raised the device will pass through the ordinary narrow gate or opening in a fence. The weight also is shifted, by such raising, to a position nearer the center line of the starting gate which greatly facilitates moving said gate over rough or uneven ground and also provides a wide margin of safety against tipping. Moreover the pivot pins can be made rapidly removable, thus permitting said partitions to be easily and quickly removed for transportation. a

I am aware that many changes may be made throughout a wide range without departing from the principles of this invention, and I, therefore,

do not purpose limiting the patent granted hereon otherwise than as necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention:

1. A race track starting gate, comprising a sup-- porting frame, said frame consisting of a pair of uprights and a, horizontal cross member, supports extending downwardly from the cross mem- 10 her, and a plurality of counter-balanced partitions pivotally mounted at the lower ends 0! the supports.

2. A portable race track starting gate, comprising a supporting frame, a plurality of pivotally mounted partitions therein, said partitions being relatively thick, counter-balanced, and having flat forward edges, and means for lifting the forward edges of said partitions, and simultaneously raising the partitions.

AUGUST T. J. BAHR. 

